Activists continue to protest Western & Southern’s
treatment of the Anna Louise Inn, which has been helping women in the
Lytle Park neighborhood for more than a century. CityBeat last
week reported the details of Western & Southern’s failure to
purchase the property when it had the chance and the company’s
subsequent attempts to force the Inn to leave the neighborhood anyway.

The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, released a
statement on Saturday describing the protest banner as
proof for local and national leaders that Western & Southern’s
actions won’t be tolerated. The statement read: “We will continue to up the ante until you stop attacking the hard-working women of the Anna Louise Inn.”

Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, said in an email to CityBeat
that the plane flew for two 30-minute stints on Sunday. Spring said
protesters distributed 2,000 flyers outside the tournament’s gates and
that the people who learned what Western & Southern was doing
generally expressed frustration. The banner was made possible by contributions from several local organizations, including Occupy Work and Wages, Amos Project, the Homeless Coalition, SEIU Local 1, Mount Auburn Presbyterian church and other concerned citizens and groups.

The banner asks people to go to stpws.com to learn more. The website redirects to www.southernwestern.net,
which is the site where activists finally were able to publish a
satirical video parodying a Western & Southern spokesperson proud of
his company’s attacks on the Anna Louise Inn. The video was originally
posted in June to YouTube and Vimeo, but was removed for copyright
infringement shortly after Western & Southern found out about it.
Western & Southern didn’t return CityBeat’s calls back then asking whether or not W&S was involved in forcing the removal of the video. The website includes a change.org petition asking Western & Southern to stop suing the Anna Louise Inn.

Cincinnati’s Historic Conservation Board is scheduled to
hear arguments on Aug. 27 that could lead to a conditional use permit
and allow the Anna Louise Inn to move forward with a renovation Western
& Southern stalled by suing the Inn. It will take place 3 p.m. on the seventh floor of 805 Central Ave.

We didn’t mean to help re-elect a socialist

During the past year CityBeat has spent a lot of
energy reporting on countless Republican screw-ups, from typical
shortsighted policies to legislation that is straight-up offensive to women,
minorities, gay people and the poor and working class. But we didn’t
realize that by pointing out how offensive and irrelevant the country’s
GOP leaders were acting, that we were inadvertently killing America.

That's why we would like to formally apologize to the Lebanon tea party in Warren County. The email you sent to The Enquirer today hit us
pretty hard — the fact that you’re literally wearing black and mourning
America because “socialists, welfare and unions took over this country”
is super sad. In our haste to ask questions of elected leaders, fact
check their statements and put their beliefs and policies into perspective over the
past few months, we forgot how badly people in Warren County wish America
could be like the 1950s again, when women knew their place and black
people had to operate the elevators and never say anything whites didn’t
want to hear. Mad Men is a great show.

We didn’t mean to be tricked by President Obama’s stimulus
bill — we (stupidly) believed the economists who said it staved off a
depression caused by under-regulation of the housing and financial
industries (we tried to believe Mitt Romney’s concept of further
reducing regulations so the job-creators can stimulate the economy in
the private sector thus giving our wealth back to us, but it was maybe
too complicated for us to understand?).

Some people we know kept their jobs when the president
didn’t allow the American car companies to go broke even though they’re
the ones that decided to max out profits on SUVs with truck beds on the
back. Other people we know spent time last year without health care, and
this country’s health care costs are somewhere around twice as much as
any other country’s so we were like, “Yea, reforming that system sounds
about right.” But we admit that we don’t know what it’s going to be like
for the 15 percent of this country living in poverty to all of the
sudden have access to preventative care. Someone in Cincinnati died of a
tooth problem last year, and we don’t even know if that’s covered.

We realize that it wasn’t Mitt Romney who used the term
“legitimate rape,” but it made us want to throw up, which slowed down
productivity that might have allowed us to figure out that Don’t Ask
Don’t Tell was the only thing keeping our country’s military from
turning Afghanistan into a European-style gay disco.

We thought it was kind of gross when the president killed
Osama bin Laden, but everyone was really happy about it so we focused
our attention on the results of the president’s home buying and
refinancing programs that helped stimulate the economy and saved
people’s houses, even though we’re all a bunch of renters who don’t even
know how to use a level.

So we’re clearly at fault for your expectation of the
downfall of this country, and we realize that you’re upset and probably
right about America becoming a socialist nation within months. We messed
up bad this time, but we want you to know that we’re not blind to it —
your press release has put our actions into a perspective that we wish
we had yesterday or, even better, several years ago before we learned
how to do our jobs the right way.

At least you have the local daily newspaper to publish
your emotional reactions to historical election results and to continue
endorsing GOP candidates no matter how ill qualified and misguided they are.
Please don’t mourn long — there’s still hope for the type of social
regression you’re looking for, especially in Warren County.

Three Ohio cities make Children Defense Fund’s top five

Cincinnati ranked No. 2 for highest child poverty out of 76 major U.S.
cities in 2012, the Children’s
Defense Fund (CDF) of Ohio said Friday.

The numbers provide a grim reminder that more than half of
Cincinnati’s children lived in poverty in 2012, even as the city’s urban core began a nationally recognized revitalization period.

With 53.1 percent of children in poverty, Cincinnati
performed better in CDF’s ranking than Detroit (59.4 percent) but worse
than Cleveland (52.6 percent), Miami (48 percent) and Toledo (46
percent), which rounded out the top five.

The data, adopted from the U.S. Census Bureau, also shows
Ohio’s child poverty rate of 23.6 percent exceeded the national rate of
22.6 percent in 2012, despite slight gains over the previous year.

“When three of the top five American cities with the
highest rates of child poverty are in Ohio, it is clear that children
are not a priority here,” said Renuka Mayadev, executive director of CDF
of Ohio. “Significant numbers of our children do not meet state
academic standards because their basic needs are not being met.”

Mayor John Cranley on Thursday told reporters that he intends to unveil an anti-poverty initiative next year. A majority of council members also told CityBeat
that they will increase human services funding, which goes to agencies
that address issues like poverty and homelessness, even as they work to
structurally balance the city’s operating budget.

Outside City Hall, the Strive Partnership and other education-focused organizations are working to guarantee a quality preschool education
to all of Cincinnati’s 3- and 4-year-olds. The issue, which will most
likely involve a tax hike of some kind, could appear on the 2014 ballot.

Western & Southern expected to appeal something else next week

In the ongoing saga of Western & Southern vs. the Anna
Louise Inn, there have been several court cases and zoning rulings,
most of which have been appealed by one side or the other. Today it was
the Cincinnati Zoning Board of Appeals’ turn to rule on
something that’s already been ruled on, and it went in favor of the
Anna Louise Inn.

The Board upheld a certificate of appropriateness for the
Anna Louise Inn’s planned renovation, which essentially also upholds the
Historic Conservation Board’s right to issue a conditional use permit —
at least for now. Western & Southern is expected to appeal that
permit, granted by the Conservation Board Aug. 27, before its 30-day
window to do so expires.

Before this series of appeals can play out, the 1st
District Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the Anna Louise Inn’s
appeal of Judge Norbert Nadel’s May 27 ruling, which set in motion the
Inn’s attempts to secure zoning approval from the Historical
Conservation Board in the first place.

(All of this could have been avoided if Western & Southern would have purchased the Anna Louise Inn when it had the chance. CityBeat
previously reported the details of Western & Southern’s failure to
purchase the Inn and the company’s subsequent attempts to force the Inn
out of the neighborhood here.)

About 40 people attended today’s hearing, including City
Councilman Wendell Young, who said he supports the Anna Louise Inn but
was not there to testify on its behalf.

By upholding the certificate of
appropriateness, the ruling keeps alive a conditional use permit that
could allow the Anna Louise Inn to move forward with a $13 million
renovation of its historic building, once the expected appeals process plays out. (CityBeat covered the Aug. 27 Historical Conservation Board hearing here.)

The Board heard brief arguments from lawyers for both
Western & Southern and Cincinnati Union Bethel and then entered
executive session for about 15 minutes before ruling in favor of the
Anna Louise Inn.

Western & Southern lawyer Francis Barrett, who is the
brother of Western & Southern CEO John Barrett and a member of the
University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees, told CityBeat after
the meeting that he disagreed with the board’s finding because a
designed expansion of the building’s fifth floor has not yet had its use
approved.

“With this case, the Historical
Conservation Board is basically approving for the certificate of
appropriateness the design of the building,” Barrett said. “But the
design included an expansion of the fifth floor,
and until that use issue is resolved the code reads, in my opinion, you
can’t approve the design because the use hasn’t been approved.”

Barrett during the hearing read a written statement to the
board arguing two main points: that the Historic Conservation Board
didn’t have the jurisdiction to grant the certificate of
appropriateness; and even if it did, Barrett argued, the physical
expansion planned makes it a non-conforming use which wouldn’t qualify
for the building permit.

Cincinnati Union Bethel attorney Tim Burke told the Board
that the Anna Louise Inn is not seeking a permit for non-conforming use
because it already received a conditional use permit from the Historic
Conservation Board.

“Western & Southern is doing everything it can to block this renovation from happening,” Burke told the Board.

At the Historic Conservation Board hearing last month
Western & Southern tried paint a picture of the Anna Louise Inn’s
residents contributing to crime in the area because a condition of the
conditional use permit is that the building’s use will not be
detrimental to public health and safety or negatively affect property
values in the neighborhood. But the Board granted the permit, stating
that the Anna Louise Inn will not be detrimental to public health and
safety or harmful to nearby properties in the neighborhood and that the
Board found no direct evidence connecting residents of the Anna Louise
Inn to criminal activity in the neighborhood. Western & Southern has until next week to appeal that ruling.

Census shows poverty on the rise in Cincinnati

The 2012 rate represents a roughly
10-percent increase in the city’schild poverty rate in the past two years. In 2010, 48
percent of Cincinnatians younger than 18 were considered impoverished;
in 2012, the rate was 53.1 percent.

If the number was reduced back down to 2010 levels, approximately 4,500 Cincinnati children would be pulled out of poverty.

Overall poverty similarly increased in Cincinnati from 30.6 percent in 2010 to 34.1 percent in 2012.

Black residents were hit hardest with 46.4 percent classified as in poverty in 2012, up from 40.8 percent in 2010. Meanwhile,
the poverty rate among white residents went from 19.8 percent in 2010 to
22.9 percent in 2012.

Hispanics of any race were placed at a poverty rate of 51
percent in 2012, but that number had an extraordinary margin of error of
15.5 percent, which means the actual poverty rate for Hispanics could
be up to 15.5 percent higher or lower than the survey’s estimate. In
2010, 42 percent of Hispanics were classified as impoverished, but that
number had an even larger margin of error of 17.9 percent.

The other local numbers had margins of error ranging from 2.2 percent to 4.9 percent.

The child poverty rates for Cincinnati were more than double Ohio’s numbers. Nearly one in four Ohio
children are in poverty, putting the state at No. 33 worst among 50 states for child
poverty, according to the Children’s Defense Fund of Ohio.

In 2012, the U.S. government put the federal poverty level for a family of four at an annual income of $23,050.

Some groups are using the numbers to make the case for new policies.

“Too many Ohioans are getting stuck at the lowest rung of
the income ladder and kids are paying the price,” said Hannah Halbert,
workforce researcher for left-leaning think tank Policy Matters Ohio, in
a statement. “Policymakers — at both the state and federal levels — are
making a clear choice to not invest in workers, families or kids. This
approach is not moving our families forward.”

The federal government temporarily increased aid to
low-income Americans through the federal stimulus package in 2009, but
some of that extra funding already expired or is set to expire later in
the year. The food stamp program’s cuts in particular could hit 1.8 million Ohioans, according to an Aug. 2 report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Governor not pursuing waiver for restrictions as economy supposedly recovers

Gov. John Kasich’s refusal to seek another waiver for federal regulations on food stamps will force 18,000 current recipients in Hamilton County to meet work requirements if they want the benefits to continue.

Under federal law, “able-bodied” childless adults receiving food
stamps are required to work or attend work training for 20 hours a week.
But when the Great Recession began, the federal government handed out
waivers to all states, including Ohio, so they could provide food
assistance without placing burdens on under- and unemployed populations.

Kasich isn’t asking for a renewal of that waiver, which means
134,000 Ohioans in most Ohio counties, including 18,000 in Hamilton
County, will have to meet the 20-hours-per-week work requirement to get
their $200 a month in food aid starting in January, after recipients go through a three-month limit on benefits for those not meeting the work requirements.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services explained earlier in September that the waiver is no longer necessary in all but 16 counties because Ohio’s economy is now recovering from the Great Recession. Two weeks later, the August jobs report put Ohio’s unemployment rate at a one-year high of 7.3 percent after the state only added 0.6 percent more jobs between August 2012 and August this year.

At the same time, the federal government appears ready to allow stimulus funding for food stamp programs to expire in November. The extra money was adopted
in the onset of the Great Recession to provide increased aid to those hit
hardest by the economic downturn.

That means 18,000 food stamp recipients in Hamilton County
will have to meet a 20-hour-per-week work requirements to receive $189
per month — $11 less than current levels — for food aid starting in
November. Assuming three meals a day, that adds up to slightly more
than $2 per meal.

The $11 loss might not seem like much, but Tim McCartney,
chief operating officer at the Hamilton County Department of Job and
Family Services (HCDJFS), says it adds up for no- and low-income individuals.

“Food assistance at the federal level is called SNAP,
which is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It’s not designed to
be the entire food budget for yourself or your family. It’s designed to
be a supplement. So anything you lose to a supplement, you obviously
didn’t have enough in the first place,” McCartney says.

HCDJFS already helps some recipients of other welfare
programs meet work requirements through local partnerships. But to avoid
further straining those partners with a rush of 18,000 new
job-searchers, the county agency is also allowing food stamp recipients
to set up their own job and job training opportunities with other local
organizations, including neighborhood groups, churches and community
centers.

McCartney says he’s also advising people to pursue job opportunities at Cincinnati’s SuperJobs Center,
which attempts to link those looking for work with employers. McCartney
says the center has plenty of job openings, but many people are unaware
of the opportunities.

“This population sometimes has additional barriers with
previous convictions or drug and mental health issues that would
eventually exempt them, but for others, there are plenty of
opportunities right now that we’d like to connect them with,” he says.

Conservatives, especially Republicans, argue the work
requirements are necessary to ensure people don’t take advantage of the
welfare system to gain easy benefits. But progressives are concerned the
restrictions will unfairly hurt the poorest Ohioans and the economy.

At the federal level, Republican legislators, including
local Reps. Steve Chabot and Brad Wenstrup, are seeking further cuts to the food stamp program through H.R. 3102, which would slash
$39 billion over 10 years from the program. Part of the savings in the
bill come from stopping states from obtaining waivers on work
requirements.

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio
Association of Foodbanks, decried the bill in a statement: “Congress
shouldn’t be turning to Ohio’s poorest people to find savings —
especially children and others who are unable to work for their own
food. The proposal the Ohio members of Congress supported is immoral,
and our lawmakers must work together to represent all their
constituents. No one should be in the business of causing hunger, yet
that’s the choice the Ohio members of Congress made today.”

The legislation is unlikely to make it through the U.S. Senate, but President Barack Obama promised to veto the bill if it comes to his desk.

Correction: This story previously said the restrictions start removing “able-bodied” childless adults from the rolls in October instead of January.

Author will hold book signing on Thursday

A social worker that has
written a new book criticizing Cincinnati’s development efforts in
Over-the-Rhine will conduct a book signing Thursday.

Alice Skirtz, a Cincinnati native,
is the author of Econocide: Elimination of the Urban Poor. She will host a book
signing from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Skirtz & Johnston bakery at Findlay Market,
113 West Elder St.

Proceeds from book sales at
the event will be given to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.
Skirtz is the founding organizer of the coalition.

The book profiles growing
economic inequalities in the city that is reflected in policy debates over contentious
issues like panhandling, homelessness, planning and funding for affordable
housing, zoning for social service agencies and site selection for shelters.

Written from a social worker’s
perspective, Econocide focuses on advocacy for people who are most vulnerable
in society to promote and make sure they’re included in the socio-economic
policies of local government.

"Based on over 40 years of
experience in working with the urban poor, I wrote this book to call attention
to how they have become increasingly at risk of being removed permanently from
the community and civic life," Skirtz said. "The growth of
privatization has led to increasing economic inequities, lessening influence in
administrative and legislative affairs, and decreasing access to housing and
even public spaces. I intend for this book to lead to a change in how we treat
the urban poor."

The book includes a blurb by
David Mann, a local attorney who also is an ex-Cincinnati mayor and former
congressman.

“You cannot read her book
without tears coming to your eyes at some point and without wondering why a
supposedly enlightened society cannot better balance the needs of the least
among us with overall economic health and viability,” Mann wrote. “You will ask
yourself why we cannot do better.”

National conference to look at child poverty and education issues, among others

The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) will host a national
conference in Cincinnati July 22-25 with a focus on child poverty,
education and health care. It’s the first national conference hosted by
CDF since 2003.

Child poverty and its causes will be one of the main
focuses of the conference. Nearly 15 million children in the United
States, or 21 percent of all children, live in families below the
federal poverty level, according to the National Center for Children in
Poverty (NCCP). A study from the NCCP found Cincinnati has the
third-worst children’s poverty rate at 48 percent. Only Detroit and
Cleveland were worse, with 53.6 percent and 52.6 percent, respectively.

“We’re going to look at all the range of policies and
practices and the impact of those and what we can do,” CDF President
Marian Wright told WVXU today. “It’s going to be a real teach-in on what
we must do to move forward and stop the move backwards, which I think
we’re in the midst of.”

The conference will also look at education issues. It
seeks to shine light on the issue of the achievement gap between the
poor and non-poor and racial disparities. A 2011 analysis by the
National Center for Education Statistics found black and Hispanic
students are behind their white peers by 20 test-points in math and
reading tests provided by the National Assessment of Educational
Progress. The difference equates to about two grade levels.

The conference will also look at child health care
services, zero-tolerance discipline policies in schools and tools and
programs that can be used to improve the lives of struggling children.

Anyone is free to register at CDF’s website to join the conference. Experts, doctors and activists will also be there.

A new Census Bureau report reveals that from 2005 to 2009, a segment of Over-the-Rhine had the highest income inequality of more than 61,000 communities nationwide.

The segment — known as Census Tract No. 17 — is the northeast quadrant of Over-the-Rhine. The findings were featured in an article Tuesday by McClatchy Newspapers, which attributes the disparity in the tract partially to gentrification and the influx of young professionals into the predominantly low-income neighborhood.